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Restoring a Hudson River Crusader, Plank by Plank

The Clearwater is receiving a $2 million restoration.Credit
Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

KINGSTON, N.Y. — The sound of handsaws and power tools from the lower deck of the old sloop did not exactly recall the folk anthem “If I Had a Hammer,” which, a couple of generations ago, inspired young people to become involved in the civil rights movement.

But one of the writers of the song, Pete Seeger, who died last year, would most likely have been pleased by the noise: The construction was in service of another dream he had, of a cleaner planet.

Beginning in June 1969, Mr. Seeger used the sloop, a 106-foot wooden sailing vessel that he christened Clearwater, to crusade for the cleanup of the Hudson River, which had been ravaged by raw sewage and industrial waste for decades.

The boat is both a floating classroom and a platform for raising awareness of environmental issues. This winter, workers on the Clearwater are expected to complete the last of a three-part restoration that cost nearly $2 million, the most extensive in its history.

“We are keeping his legacy alive,” said Annika Savio, 30, one of Clearwater’s two captains, referring to Mr. Seeger. “This restoration means we can continue to bring our message to people up and down the river. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to sail.”

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An image of the folk singer Pete Seeger, who used the sloop to promote environmental causes, hangs in a cabinCredit
Associated Press

The Clearwater is a replica of the sloops that plied the Hudson in the mid-18th century, providing reliable river transportation between New York City and Albany. In their heyday, hundreds of sloops worked on the river, but by 1900 they had been largely replaced by steamboats and railroads. Most of the remaining sloops were left to rot on the banks of the river.

The ship’s restoration represents an effort to preserve a famous piece of the Hudson’s history. To everyone involved — captains, crew members and laborers — a great deal more is at stake than the repair of an old wooden boat.

“The thing that sets Clearwater apart is that I have a real strong passion for her mission,” said James Kricker, the project’s lead shipwright and the director of the Riverport Wooden Boat School. The 60-ton Clearwater was brought to the Hudson River Maritime Museum here aboard a barge after being hoisted out of the water in Albany this fall.

Workers are replacing the hull’s below-water outer planking and its framing, the riblike parts of the boat that extend out from the keelson, the backbone of the ship. The exposed structure looks like the skeleton of a large whale.

The ship’s stern and bow were replaced in previous restoration projects, so the current work is focused on the middle part of the ship. About half of the cost of the restoration is being paid for with state funds; the rest of the money is from private donations and fund-raising by the nonprofit that operates the Clearwater.

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The hull of the Clearwater.Credit
Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

More than 12,000 people a year sail aboard the Clearwater between its numerous ports of call from New York to Albany. The ship can count among its diverse passengers both Brooklyn schoolchildren from low-income families as well as idealistic adults committed to carrying out Mr. Seeger’s environmental advocacy.

Aleythea Dolstad, 29, the Clearwater’s other captain, grew up sailing on Puget Sound in Washington and moved from Seattle to join the ship’s campaign. “For me, becoming captain was because I care about the boat and I want it to keep going,” she said. “I want to make that happen.”

The Clearwater has been used in several environmental campaigns throughout its history, including one in 1972 in support of the federal Clean Water Act. The ship was also part of the effort that resulted in a federally mandated project by General Electric to remove a class of organic chemicals called PCBs, whose manufacture was banned in 1979, from a 40-mile stretch of the upper Hudson.

Recently, teenagers from Uummannaq, Greenland, came to see the Clearwater’s restoration, the latest in a series of visits that began in 2009. The town of about 1,300 people is on a small island about 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

“We’ve been dealing with the issues of climate change long before all these things became trendy,” said Ann Andreasen, the director of the Children’s Home in Uummannaq, which serves underprivileged children. “New land is coming up because the ice is disappearing. It’s very important to have awareness about what is going on. It’s tremendous, the work that Clearwater is doing and the impact it’s having on young people.”

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The vessel is being restored at the Hudson River Maritime MuseumCredit
Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

Because of the work being done on the Clearwater, the teenagers were able to see parts of the ship that are not usually visible, such as its large, wooden rudder.

“Getting to see the unseen is a pretty amazing experience on the boat,” Ms. Savio said.

The laborers working on the ship are scrambling to complete the restoration in time for the coming sailing season.

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Sturdy white oak that is being used for a new hull comes from several places, including North Carolina and trees from a Hudson Valley estate. Before tackling the hull, workers had to take out 30,000 pounds of ballast, which is being stored on shore.

The restoration was divided into phases partly so the vessel would not have to miss a full year on the water and suspend its mission of working with school groups and promoting environmental messages.

But the sailing season is also critical because it generates income. Between salaries for the captains and crew members, meals, fuel and docking fees, Clearwater’s journeys cost about $300,000 a year.

“Pete Seeger was always very clear that this was not his boat,” Ms. Dolstad said. “It is the people’s boat. We are the people and we’re keeping it going.”

A version of this article appears in print on December 14, 2015, on Page A18 of the New York edition with the headline: Restoring a Hudson Crusader, Plank by Plank. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe